Machines such as, for example, passenger vehicles, trains, marine vessels, construction equipment, excavating machines, etc., include many components that are susceptible to wear and breakdown resulting from everyday use. Such machines have been provided with onboard controllers to detect abnormal operating conditions and warn the machine operator or owner of the conditions. For example, the onboard controller may cause a “check engine” light to become illuminated in response to the detected abnormal conditions.
Although alerted to the abnormal conditions, the machine owner is not ordinarily provided with enough information to diagnose and remedy the problem alone, and must take the machine to a service center where the abnormal conditions can be addressed by a service professional. Because an appointment must be made, and the particular service center selected by the machine owner may be unable to immediately acquire the parts needed for repair, addressing such abnormal conditions may result in significant machine downtime, even for a relatively minor issue. In a case where the machine is used in an industry such as, for example, excavation, construction, farming, transportation, etc., such downtime can result in significant economic losses and missed deadlines.
One system that attempts to minimize machine downtime is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,023,332 (the '332 patent) issued to Saito et al., on Apr. 4, 2006. The '332 patent discloses an on-vehicle breakdown-warning report system, in which an abnormal operating condition is automatically detected. Information about the abnormal operating condition is sent to an off-board server computer where it is analyzed. Based on the analysis, the server computer determines the one or two best service companies that can perform the maintenance that will probably be necessary to repair the vehicle. The service companies are then provided to the vehicle operator for selection.
Although the system of the '332 patent may help reduce down time and resources spent in connection with identifying and locating an appropriate service company, it may be limited. Specifically, the operator must still bring his vehicle to the service company before appropriate replacement parts can be ordered. Therefore, in circumstances where the repair is relatively simple and/or the operator has the knowledge and means to replace the part on his own, the downtime reduced by usage of the system of the '332 patent may be minimal.
The disclosed visual diagnostic subscription service is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.